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The Year That Was

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As 2010 draws to a close, we look back at the past year as chronicled in these very pages. Careful readers should, in theory, ace this spot quiz, but if it's any consolation, even we needed a hint or two. It has, after all, been a very eventful year.

1) In our January/February 2010 issue, we reported on a December 2009 survey of CFOs that found what percentage believing that a sustained increase in demand for their products or services would be evident by Q3 2010 or sooner?

A. 22%B. 39%C. 65%D. 79%

2) In a March article on the prospects for CFOs becoming CEOs, we cited a Crist Kolder Associates study that found that the percentage of sitting CEOs with CFO experience has doubled in the past decade, to:

A. 9%B. 15%C. 21%D. 30%

3) Audit fees, as we explained in April, have been declining for several years. That has to be heartening for most companies, especially if your 2008 audit bill was $126 million, the amount paid by:

A. CitiGroupB. Ford Motor Co. C. AIGD. GE

4) In a May cover story on growth strategies, the CFO of what American company pointed to 2009 sales of $50 million in China and predicted his company's brand would increasingly "resonate there as China's middle class grows by leaps and bounds"?

A. Apple ComputerB. NetflixC. Levi Strauss & Co. D. Coach

5) Employers and employees alike are showing renewed interest in flexible work schedules. When we surveyed readers on the subject this past summer and asked which finance positions were best-suited to flexible work arrangements, where did "CFO" rank among 10 titles?

A. ThirdB. SixthC. EighthD. Tenth

6) In September we interviewed Richard Cowan, a former president of the Yale Young Republicans and now CFO of a company in what line of business?

7) Each quarter our Global Business Outlook Survey, a joint effort with Duke University, polls hundreds of CFOs on a range of business issues. In October, how many said they plan to add domestic full-time staff in the next 12 months?

A. Less than 1%B. 7%C. 15%D. 24%

8) Finally, last month we surveyed CFOs about their plans to restructure their finance departments. Just over half said they had cut finance staff in the past two years. Of those, how many cited "greater use of offshoring/outsourcing services" as one factor driving such job cuts?